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Summary: Playing Ender's Game
Review: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card Do you crave science fiction? Do lasers, aliens, spaceships and futuristic technology thrill you? If monsters invaded your city, would you blow them up with a laser rather than repelling them with a magic spell? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is the book for you.
Ender is a boy living on Earth in the distant future. He is a Third, the third child of his family. Thirds are resented by many; called a disgrace, the "leftovers" of their family. The Earth is in a "three strikes, you're out" situation. Aliens called buggers have attacked Earth twice, roughing it up pretty badly. The governments of Earth have finally taking action, selecting the planet's most brilliant kids (with the potential to be starship commanders) and whisking them up to Battle School. This is a huge orbiting vessel where students train by soaring through an anti-gravity room with their army, using special aerial techniques to defeat the opposing army with stunning energy beams. Ender is one of these young children, and he's the best of the best, making true friends, bitter enemies, and a mess out of any army he faces. Winning battles and showing their skills allows students to get promoted to other schools, which emphasize their special, possibly bugger-busting talents. When they are ready to enter the war, they fly off in a ship to face the buggers.
While Ender's Game, is, in our opinion, a great book, filled with action and suspense, it does contain some inappropriate language that parents may not want their children reading. With that said, the writing style does help spice up the story. And what a story it is. If you need a good, healthy, 324-page dose of science fiction at its best, check out Ender's Game. Reviewed by Locke and Demosthenes
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Summary: Simple and Elegant, Sci/Fi at it's best
Review: I am not usually a huge sci-fi fan, the Star Trek and Star Wars books (by their sheer number alone) make me cringe. However, the Ender series by Orson Scott Card is much less about the technology and futuristic aspects of sci-fi, and more about actual humans who happen to live in a future with technology greater than our own.
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Summary: The ultimate twist
Review: I'm not much of a sci/fi reader, but I really enjoyed this book. It pushes the endurance of humans to the edge in what is required from the young boys in this story, and examines the ability of people to adapt and then create solutions under the most extreme circumstances. A gripping story, with one of the best twists of plot that I have ever seen. Truly brilliant. The characters are well developed and have interesting dynamics not unlike what many people expirience in their own lives. Definetely a great read!
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Summary: Read this book! and then pass it on.
Review: I've heard Orson Scott Card say himself that when attempting to describe, explain or otherwise summarize science-fiction it just ends up sounding stupid so, I'm not even gonna attempt that. I love this book, I've read it multiple times and continue to be enthralled with the story. A rather simple story of triumph brought into the not too distant future. I recommend you read it, it is an easy read and well worth the investment. (You'll want to check out the "parallel novels" as well). The following trilogy is a bit more adult, that is - in style, but every bit as intriguing even if it isn't as simple.
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Summary: An amazing sci-fi classic
Review: I was given an outside reading assignment that let me choose any fiction book to read. At that time I didn't have the slightest inkling of what to read, so I asked a friend if he had any suggestions. He told me about Ender's Game and suggested that I give it a try. That decision changed my life by influencing my mind to be more open about my surroundings and changes in life. Ender's Game is the best book I have ever read, it kept me turning the pages from it's interesting beginning to it's unexpected ending. I actually feel like I was privaleged to read it. When I was finished I actually felt smarter. Orson Scott Card is a science fiction genius, he has the ability to create an unknown world with amazing detail and characterize it as if it was taking place in the present. Card also has the ability to create and develop characters in such a way that the reader can feel them growing and changing without directly telling the reader that they are growing and changing. The storyline and plot were like nothing I have ever read. The idea of a battle school in space, a zero gravity game of something that resembles laser tag, or a virtual video game that puts you inside it and utilizes many parts of your brain including: common sense, logic, psychological, and the ability to solve difficult puzzles. I would recommend this book to anyone who is fortunate enough to pick it up and read it.
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Summary: If you haven't read this, you dont know what you are missing
Review: I was given an outside reading assignmentin which I could pick any fiction book to read. The problem was I didn't have the slightest inkling on what to read. So I asked a friend of mine for some suggestions, and he told me that I should give the book "Ender's Game" a try. So I decided to read it. That decision has changed my life, by influencing my mind to be more open about my surroundings and changes in life. Ender's Game is the best book I have ever read, it kept me turning it's pages from it's interesting beginning to it's enexpected ending. When I was finished with the book I actually fely smarter. Orson Scott Card is a science fiction genius. He has the ability to create an unknown world with amazing detail and as if it were real and taking place in the present time. Card also has the ability to create and develop characters in such a way that the reader can feel them growing and changing without directly telling the reader that they are changing. The storyline and plot were like none other that I have ever read. Just the idea that there could be a battle school in space, a zero gravity game of something that resembles laser tag, and a virtual video game that puts you inside it and utilizes many parts of your brain including: common sense, logic, psychological and the ability to solve puzzles excites me. I'd reccomend this book to anyone that is fortunate enough to read it.
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Summary: A study on the effects of power and control
Review: Ender's Game is the story of a young boy who is forced to fulfill a destiny which he would not have chosen for himself. In a time when children are bred and nurtured to become military prodigies, Ender is chosen as fulfilling the necessary criteria to become a dangerous weapon in the human population's battle against aliens who have attacked them in the past. The focus of the book, however, is not this battle itself so much as the training Ender and his peers must undergo in order to be prepared for it. Those selected as being of proper aptitude are removed from their families to the Battle School, a remote space station where students are formed into armies and undergo intense training in the "game" of battling each other in military formations. The story is an interesting psychological examination of the turmoil in Ender's head as he continually faces the fact that his brilliance is intended by others to be used for violence. He is the best in his school and is keenly aware of it, but this leads to being continually faced with harrassment (and worse) by the other students. Ender must learn to handle this in order to prove himself as a capable leader, even as he wrestles with his internal desire to remain peaceful and abandon his training altogether. As Card quotes from Jesus's words in the course of the story, "I come not to bring peace, but the sword." I find this an interesting examination of the role of violence-- in what situations can it be considered appropriate, or at least the lesser of two evils? In the course of the book Ender commits acts which he considers reprehensible, but for which the rest of the world is all too ready to excuse him. We as readers are forced to draw our own conclusions about the morality of Ender's actions.
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Summary: Sci-Fi for the everyman
Review: Before reading Ender's Game I had heard quite a lot of great things about it. So much that it would be hard for any book to live up to the expectations I had set. Nonetheless, the book was all I had heard and more. The characters were very well developed, which is something that is not easily found in the science fiction genre, and the story was so fascinating that I couldn't put the book down. A brief overview of the plot doesn't do the book any justice; there are so many little events that keep the plot flowing and exciting that are more important. The way that Ender interacts and deals with problems is remarkable, and takes the story away from being too science fiction-y. The book depicts how people can be manipulated into roles that they don't necessarily want to be in. I was worried more about Ender's moral attitude and decisions than I was about the aliens that were going to kill the human race.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes the ideas of science fiction, but doesn't like the whole plot of the book to revolve around those ideas. The futuristic setting, alien battles, and space-age technology found in Ender's Game only accent a really brilliant character driven story. Definitely read this book.
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Summary: Read this book. You won't be sorry.
Review: ________Ender's Game is a book with a back cover that hardly does it justice. Whether you like to read or not this book would not be a waste of time. I was reluctant at first to read the book, when it was recommended to me by a friend, but once I got around to starting it, I finished the book in two sittings. It is the kind of book that you sit down to read for one hour, then one hour turns to three, then five, and then you wish you hadn't finished so much of it because you don't want it to end.
________This book, while it may seem like a typical sci-fi book from its appearance, is far from it. While many sci-fi books are action based, Ender's game took an approach that explored the characters much more than most other books I have read. The way Card presents the story lets readers know what the characters are thinking when they need to know it, instead of making the reader wait until the character speaks in order to learn something about them.
________Parts of the plot may be slightly unoriginal (Earth is in trouble because of a race of aggressive aliens), but Card focuses much more on the story of Ender, a very young boy genius who happens to be the Earth's only hope for winning the war with the "buggers". This book deals with the trials that Ender is put through by the government in their attempt to prepare him to command the entire military effort against the aliens, and it also contains an ending that will both surprise and appease even the most skeptic of readers. The plot is simple, but the progression of it is complex and enjoyable. I would recommend this book to anyone who knows how to read, and yes... it is that good.
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Summary: Finally a Great Cyberpunk Title
Review: I have never been a fan of cyberpunk literature, but Ender's Game was fantastic. Not only does it have complex characters, but there is plenty of action as well. As you follow Andrew Wiggen (Ender) through his childhood, you see how he excels in school, overcomes great obstacles, and eventually meets his greatest challenge.
This book offers a great deal of issues that are both interesting and entertaining. For example, should the government have the power to regulate the size of families? Should one disobey orders for the good of the group? And why fight wars at all?
Do they really solve anything?
It is this writer's opinion that Ender's Game is written for the high school/college age group. Anyone can enjoy it, however is it somewhat complex and may not be good for a young reader.
Overall, this is a great novel for not only cyberpunk readers, but just about everyone. It's fast paced and futuristic plot will keep anyone reading.
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